Accuray CyberKnife System Treatment Delivery Times Up to 50 Percent Faster With Software Upgrade

PRNewswire 6-Dec-2018 7:30 AM

SUNNYVALE, Calif., Dec. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Accuray Incorporated (NASDAQ:ARAY) announced today that the new release of its Accuray Precision® Treatment Planning System (TPS) with the CyberKnife® VOLO™ Optimizer will enable CyberKnife System customers to significantly improve operational efficiency by reducing both the time to create high quality treatment plans and the time it takes to deliver patient treatments. The next-generation TPS with the optimizer will facilitate the development of clinically optimal treatment plans up to 90 percent faster than before and the delivery of the treatment up to an estimated 50 percent faster than before, affording clinicians more time to expand patient access to the highly precise stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) and stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) treatments the CyberKnife System delivers.

"Our hospital was one of the first in the U.S. to provide treatment with the CyberKnife M6™ and InCise™ Multileaf Collimator and we are continuing our legacy of innovation, focused on positively transforming the care we deliver, with the upgrade to the Accuray Precision TPS and CyberKnife VOLO Optimizer," said Sujatha Pai, Chief Physicist, Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health. "One of our goals in moving from the MultiPlan® TPS to the Accuray Precision TPS and new optimizer was to increase the speed with which we can create and optimize treatment plans, and our experience to date is clearly demonstrating we are achieving this goal. For example, our physicists, Allison Lindsey and Dr. Hong Xiang, say that with Precision they were able to create an optimal prostate plan in just 45 minutes that would have taken 5-6 hours prior to the upgrade. In general, we're finding it is easier to determine the best treatment approach for each patient and it takes us less time to do so, allowing us to provide SBRT and SRS treatments to more patients in need."

The CyberKnife VOLO Optimizer builds on industry-established treatment planning methods with new tools intended to assist in delivering an exceptional clinical experience. Validated with input from clinical users affiliated with regional and academic centers, the goal of the optimizer is to 1) make planning faster, thus increasing planning throughput and allowing better plans through exploration of trade-offs and 2) improve the treatment delivery throughput. With the CyberKnife VOLO Optimizer, clinicians are expected to realize a substantial reduction in optimization time, enabling them to create plans for multiple cases in the same day, and helping to ensure the optimal treatment plan is created for cancer and neurology cases spanning different diagnoses and tumor sizes.

An internal Accuray evaluation comparing the Accuray Precision TPS with CyberKnife VOLO Optimizer solution, to other TPS, either for CyberKnife or other radiation therapy systems, has identified important improvements including:

Up to 50 percent reduction in SRS/SBRT treatment times, which includes 'beam on' and imaging of the treatment target every 30 seconds or more, so clinicians can treat more patients each day

Up to 90 percent reduction in the time spent creating the treatment plan, allowing clinicians to generate and evaluate more plans each day, making it easier to identify the particular plan that is right for each patient

"The new Accuray Precision TPS with CyberKnife VOLO Optimizer represents a major step forward in the evolution of the CyberKnife System in treatment speed, efficiency and ease of use. Clinicians now have an option for delivering the same highly precise radiosurgery treatments they have come to expect with the system more quickly and for a wider range of patient cases," said Lionel Hadjadjeba, M.D., Senior Vice President and Chief Customer Experience Officer at Accuray. "We're thrilled with the results of our internal evaluation, which has shown noteworthy reductions in both treatment planning and delivery times compared to other TPS for the CyberKnife® platform and treatment planning software for other delivery systems. We believe the introduction of the CyberKnife® VOLO™ Optimizer has the potential to significantly change the way the platform is used in clinical practice."

About AccurayAccuray Incorporated (NASDAQ:ARAY) is a radiation oncology company that develops, manufactures and sells precise, innovative treatment solutions that set the standard of care with the aim of helping patients live longer, better lives. The company's leading-edge technologies deliver the full range of radiation therapy and radiosurgery treatments. For more information, please visit www.accuray.com or follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube.

Safe Harbor StatementStatements made in this press release that are not statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements and are subject to the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements in this press release relate, but are not limited, to clinical applications, clinical results, patient experiences and outcomes, expected improvements in treatment planning, optimization time, treatment time, and treatment delivery throughput, changes in the way the CyberKnife platform is used in clinical practice, and Accuray's leadership position in radiation oncology innovation and technologies. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. If any of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or if any of the company's assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could differ materially from the results expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the company's ability to achieve widespread market acceptance of its products, including new product offerings; the company's ability to develop new products or enhance existing products to meet customers' needs; the company's limited long-term clinical data supporting the safety and efficacy of its products for certain users and such other risks identified under the heading "Risk Factors" in the company's quarterly report on Form 10-Q, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on November 6, 2018 and as updated periodically with the company's other filings with the SEC.

Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date the statements are made and are based on information available to Accuray at the time those statements are made and/or management's good faith belief as of that time with respect to future events. The company assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect actual performance or results, changes in assumptions or changes in other factors affecting forward-looking information, except to the extent required by applicable securities laws. Accordingly, investors should not put undue reliance on any forward-looking statements.